Oscars 2022 Betting Preview: Betting Odds on the Academy Awards

Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes are set to host the 94^th Academy Awards this Sunday night in Hollywood.

Academy Awards betting has become a popular trend among both movie buffs and casual movie-goers alike, and this year’s Best Picture race offers plenty of interesting Oscars betting options. Dimers.com takes a look at the nominees and their current betting odds being offered over at Kalshi.com.

Set your reminder for the 94th #Oscars - airing LIVE at 8e/5p on @ABCNetwork! https://t.co/ioQNPcKpVj

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 24, 2022

How Betting on the Oscars Works With Kalshi

Whether you want to bet on a specific movie to win the Best Picture award or you want to bet against it, Kalshi has you covered. Unlike most Oscars betting sites that have betting odds listed by the sportsbooks, Kalshi allows users to buy and sell markets for specific events. The price on different markets fluctuates based on demand for both sides, but your price is locked in once you bet on it.

All Academy Awards betting markets are offered as “Yes” or “No” propositions. If you buy a “Yes” position at $0.30, you stand to profit $0.70 minus fees for however many contracts you purchased if the event does occur. On the flip side, if you buy a “No” position at $0.80, you stand to profit $0.20 minus fees per contract. With this understanding of how Kalshi’s Oscars betting system works, let’s move on to this year’s top feature films, thanks to predictive analytics experts, Dimers.com.

Best Picture Academy Award Betting Odds

The Power of the Dog Best Picture Betting Odds

The Power of the Dog (Yes $0.54, No $0.49) is the current betting favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. This film was written and directed by Jane Campion, who is a huge favorite at Yes $0.93 to win best director. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee. This Academy Award betting favorite won three Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporing Actor (Smit-McPhee).

This Western tale is set in Montana in 1925 and it tells the story of Cumberbatch’s Phil Burbank and Plemons’ George Burbank, a pair of wealthy ranch-owners. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 94% fresh rating while audiences were less impressed with a 76% positive mark.

CODA Best Picture Betting Odds

CODA (Yes $0.41, No $0.61) has been steadily building hype as the film that could upset The Power of the Dog for a Best Picture Oscar. The film was trading with “Yes” prices of around $0.05 back in February and around $0.15 in early March before Oscars bettors moved the line all the way up to Yes $0.41. Sian Heder wrote and directed CODA, which stars Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo.

This comedy drama follows the coming-of-age tale of Jones’s Rubi Rossi, the child of deaf adults (CODA) who is the only hearing member of a deaf family as she wrestles with helping her family and pursuing her own dreams. CODA was loved by critics and movie-goers alike, earning a 95% among critics and a 93% among audience members on Rotten Tomatoes.

Betting Odds on the Rest of the Best Picture Nominees

It’s difficult to see any movie outside of the artsy drama The Power of the Dog or the comedic drama CODA walking away as an Oscars betting winner on Sunday. The only other film on the board listed with Academy Awards betting odds of more than Yes $0.05 is Belfast (Yes $0.07, No $0.96), which scored an 87% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 92% among audience members.

The other Oscars betting nominees for best picture:

Don’t Look Up (Yes $0.02, No N/A)

Drive My Car (Yes $0.02, No $0.99)

Dune (Yes $0.02, No N/A)

King Richard (Yes $0.03, No $0.99)

Licorice Pizza (Yes $0.02, No $0.99)

Nightmare Alley (Yes $0.01, No N/A)

West Side Story (Yes $0.04, No $0.99)

Best Actor Academy Award Betting Odds

Barring a major upset, Will Smith (Yes $0.87, No $0.16) appears to be in line for his first Academy Award victory for his role as Richard Williams in the film King Richard. King Richard received a 91% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and a 98% score from audience members as Smith masterfully portrayed the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. Benedict Cumberbatch (Yes $0.13, No $0.90) will try to score the upset Oscars betting whiile Andrew Garfield (Yes $0.06, No $0.97), Javier Bardem (Yes $0.02, No $0.99) and Denzel Washington (Yes $0.02, No $0.99) are big underdogs.

Best Actress Academy Award Betting Odds

Jessica Chastain (Yes $0.64, No $0.40) is the favorite to win this year’s Best Actress Oscar for her role as Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. The movie itself received mixed reviews, but Chastain’s preformance was universally heralded. The other Best Actress Oscars betting contenders are Nicole Kidman (Yes $0.19, No $0.84), Kristen Steward (Yes $0.12, No $0.91), Olivia Coleman (Yes $0.11, No $0.92) and Penelope Cruz (Yes $0.05, No $0.97).